Rasmus Højlund has given himself a public pat on the back for deciding to join Napoli during the summer transfer window, hailing it as “a great decision,” which some have perceived as an open dig at Manchester United.

Højlund is currently on loan at Napoli, joining on a nominal €6 million (£5.2 million, $7.1 million) deal for the duration of the season. A conditional obligation to buy is set to make it permanent for a further €44 million next summer in the event the club qualifies for the Champions League—the reigning Serie A champions currently sit third in the table, with a game in hand on fourth place.

The Danish striker, having impressively netted 16 times in his debut year at Old Trafford, struggled for goals last season and looked increasingly short of confidence as the months progressed. United’s decision to invest heavily in Benjamin Šeško spelled the end, after Højlund originally wanted to stay.

Since joining Napoli, Højlund has scored four Serie A goals in 11 appearances, matching his Premier League return from 2025–26 in 21 fewer games. In all competitions, it’s seven in 19 for the former Atalanta talent, including one in last week’s Supercoppa Italiana semifinal win over AC Milan.

Napoli went on to win that competition by defeating Bologna at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, handing 22-year-old Højlund the third trophy of his still fledgling career.

Højlund posted a picture of himself holding the cup on Instagram, claiming it justified his choice to leave England and return to Italian football with the line: “What a great decision looks like.”

It has been taken by plenty of fans as a pointed swipe at Manchester United, where Højlund was unable to make the most of his potential due to a variety of challenging factors.

Ultimately, both United and Højlund have benefitted from the split. Although the equivalent of €50 million coming through the door represents a loss on the original €75 million (plus add-ons) deal agreed with Atalanta in 2023, it is still a substantial amount and has allowed both parties to focus on the next chapter.

Højlund appears better suited to Italian football, having typically performed better in European competitions than the Premier League, while United have enjoyed significant improvement in goal output after signing Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.

Scott McTominay: Man Utd Don’t Make Players Worse

Scott McTominay, Rasmus Højlund playing for Napoli.
Højlund has joined Scott McTominay in seeing an upturn since leaving Old Trafford. | Elianton/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images

Højlund has been reunited at Napoli this season with former United teammate Scott McTominay, who is reigning Serie A Footballer of the Year. But when asked if simply leaving Old Trafford makes players better, McTominay refuse to hammer his boyhood club and suggested the assumption is lazy.

“It’s just too easy of an excuse,” he told CBS Sports last week. “It’s too easy to blame Man Utd.”

McTominay suggested his first season at Napoli was not drastically different to his last in Manchester: “In my last year [at United], I did well. I scored 10 goals and we won [the FA Cup].”

Marcus Rashford has gone from falling out of favour under Ruben Amorim to starting regularly for Barcelona. McTominay admitted “issues” held the forward back last season, but insists because he had previously thrived in United colours that it proves nothing.

“With Marcus, there was different issues which might have transpired which we won’t go into. However, Marcus is a top player and has always been a top player, he’s one of the club legends, scored so many goals for Man Utd, did so many great things,” the Scotland star added.

“Because the spotlight is directly on you, it makes it seem a lot worse, in my opinion.”

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rasmus Hojlund Aims Six-Word Swipe At Man Utd After Trophy Triumph.

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